Domaines Ott Château de Selle Côtes de Provence Mourvedre Blend Rose' 2020

 Domaines Ott Château de Selle Côtes de Provence Cru Classe' Mourvedre Blend Rose' 2020

We discovered and experienced this wine as part to the Premium Wine Pairing at Three Michelin Star Alinea restaurant earlier in the year. The entire dinner and wine flight are featured in this blogpost - Magnificent Dinner at Alinea Kitchen Table. From that experience, son Ryan acquired this and brought to our Memorial Day afternoon cook-out dinner on the deck for casual summer sipping. 

The Ott family own and manage three estates in two appellations in the wine growing region of Provence that sits along the Mediterranean coast of France, bordered by the Rhone River to the west and the Cote d’Azur on the east. The three estates combined produce a somewhat miniscule 800,000 bottles each year. 

The family business is managed by cousins Christian and Jean-François Ott. In 2004, Domaines Ott joined Louis Roederer and its extensive selection of wine craftsmen.  Jean-François Ott and his team continues "the unique savoir-faire of four generations of artisan-vignerons in the complete respect of nature. Inspired by an unchanged mission since the creation of the Domaines by Marcel Ott in 1896, they have constantly pursued their unique and free vision of the expression of the terroirs of Provence." 

Founder Marcel Ott, a graduate in agricultural engineering from Alsace, toured France’s vineyards in search of the perfect estate. At the time, phylloxera had destroyed much of the region’s vineyards and nearly crippled the wine industry. Hence, land was inexpensive since many of the vineyards would need replanting. Undeterred, Ott found a site, Chateau de Selle in 1912. After acquiring the estate and completely renovating it, he reconstructed and replanted the vineyards. His passion and determination led to the acquisition of two more estates and the beginning of the Domaines Ott legacy.

Family Ott acquired Château Romassan in 1956. They then spent the next thirty years re-developing the property, gaining experience with the old Château Romassan to produce great wines typical of the Bandol AOC appellation. They entirely replanted the estate with noble grape varieties in small plots that were reorganized and leveled to create terraced vineyards. The superb 18th-century building overlooking the vineyard was also completely renovated. 

Château Romassan sits at the foot of the hilltop village Le Castellet, a few miles north of the City of and Bay of Bandol in the south of France. This estate is located in the west of the Var department, in the heart of the celebrated Bandol winemaking region. The Mediterranean climate and the poor limestone and sandstone soils produce deep savory wines.  

 We drove through the region and the area vineyards during our Rhone Wine Experience in 2019.

Mourvèdre is the region's and estate’s primary grape variety. Indigenous to the area, it is particularly suited to the arid climate and austere soil. Its calm temperament is revealed in the strength of its harmonies, its robust structure and its staying power both on the palate and in the cellar. Producer Otts rely on mourvèdre for the bulk of their rosé (this one includes 30 percent cinsault and 15 percent grenache). 

Domaines Ott Château de Selle Côtes de Provence Cru Classe Mourvedre Blend Rose' 2020

The 2020 Bandol Rose Château de Selle is mainly Mourvèdre (60%) with smaller proportions of Cinsault (20%), and Grenache (20%). Many vintages also contain small amounts of Syrah. The vines have an average age of 25 years across the 180 acres of the estate. The vines draw their personality from the vineyard’s unique and distinguished soil. Chalk, sandstone and marl underlain with gravel, this singular land with its sun-drenched and particularly dry micro-climate produces sophisticated and very powerful wines.

This is blended and bottled in the new Château de Selle cellar, where part of the winery is exclusively devoted to its production. The entire process is controlled from blending to through storage ensuring the highest achievable quality expected of these wines.

Winemaker Notes - "Its pale, ethereal pink color tinted with gold or orange, releases a bouquet of citrus fruits and white orchard flowers. On the palate, the immediate effect is lively and bright, revealing notes of pink grapefruit, fleshy fruit and, once the wine has had a chance to breathe, hints of fruit tart. The finish is complex and lasting.'

"This 2020 reveals a brilliant light peach hue and a lovely aromatic intensity. The nose is fresh and fruity with hints of peach and grapefruit. After aeration, aromas of white flesh fruits start to emerge and are set off by some fine spicy notes. The palate is complex and luscious, buoyed by flavours of citrus and wild peaches. A touch of acidity on the finish gives this big and refined wine a pleasant persistence."

The 2021 was awarded 96 points by Wine & Spirits. This 2020 was awarded 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Vinous and Wine Enthusiast.

Opaque pink and light copper colored, medium bodied, firm and structured, complex, bright crisp core of peach, mineral and citrus flavors with a backbone of notes of wet stone and smokey roasted nuts, turning to what Josh Reynolds of Vinous refers to as "a repeating mineral note and a late hint of tarragon", and what Robert Parker describes as "zesty-briny and stony on the finish" in their reviews of the '21. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3956435

https://www.domaines-ott.com/en

Château de Sylvabelle Bandol 2009 Pizza Wine

Château de Sylvabelle Bandol 2009 ideal QPR 'Pizza Wine'

Midweek dinner, Linda doctored up a frozen pizza with tomatoes, olives, onions and other trimming that we oven baked on the grill for a very tasty enjoyable experience. I pulled from the cellar a suitable 'pizza wine' for applicable pleasant drinking, a Château de Sylvabelle from Bandol in the Provencal region of southern France. 

Considering the sources, both the pizza and the accompanying wine exceeded expectations for a very pleasant and tasty dinner, amplified by a perfect spring alfresco evening on the deck. 

Château de Sylvabelle Bandol 2009

I believe we received this wine as a gift in a holiday gift box several years ago and have been sitting on it in our cellar waiting for a suitable occasion such as tonight to drink. 

This wine is from the Bandol appellation, named after the so named commune in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. 

The Bandol wine region is located along the coast east of the city of Marseille and Cassis, towards the city of Toulon. It is one of Provence's most recognized wine regions. The Bandol AOC covers the production of 8 communes.

The area is a popular tourist destination with idyllic climate and proximity to Côte d'Azur Mediteranean beaches. We drove through the area as we traversed the coastal region during a weekend visit to St, Tropez while we were visiting the region and staying in the city of Aix-en-Provence.

The terroir of the region consists of silicon & limestone soils and a warm, coastal climate which are ideally suited for the late ripening Mourvèdre grape, which is the major varietal of the region. Mourvèdre must account for at least 50% of a blended wine bearing the Appellation Controllee (AOC) designation. It is typically supplemented by Grenache, Cinsault, and perhaps a few other grapes.

Mourvedre is a late ripening, darkly colored, thick skinned berry that produces long, conical shaped bunches. The grape reaches its best level of ripeness in warm, sunny, dry and even hot climates.

The true home for Mourvedre is Spain, where more than 61,000 hectares of vines are planted. After Spain, France is next country with the largest amount of planted Mourvedre vines.

In the southwest of France, Mourvedre is the third most popular grape in the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation. But third is a long way from first as it occupies less than 5% of the plantings in the Southern Rhone Valley.

When used as a blending grape, Mourvedre adds tannin and alcohol to wines as well as red fruits, cassis, spice, olives, herbs, pepper, sweetness, structure and depending on the producer, it could add a gamey, pleasant barnyard or animalistic character to the wine. Mourvedre is the perfect grape to blend with Grenache and Syrah.

Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/grapes-for-wine-making-flavor-characteristics-explained/mourvedre-wine-grape-flavor-character-history/

Mourvedre is a late ripening, darkly colored, thick skinned berry that produces long, conical shaped bunches. The grape reaches its best level of ripeness in warm, sunny, dry and even hot climates.

The true home for Mourvedre is Spain, where more than 61,000 hectares of vines are planted. After Spain, France is next country with the largest amount of planted Mourvedre vines.

In the southwest of France, Mourvedre is the third most popular grape in the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation. But third is a long way from first as it occupies less than 5% of the plantings in the Southern Rhone Valley.

When used as a blending grape, Mourvedre adds tannin and alcohol to wines as well as red fruits, cassis, spice, olives, herbs, pepper, sweetness, structure and depending on the producer, it could add a gamey, pleasant barnyard or animalistic character to the wine. Mourvedre is the perfect grape to blend with Grenache and Syrah.

Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/grapes-for-wine-making-flavor-characteristics-explained/mourvedre-wine-grape-flavor-character-history/

The Cellar Insider writes about Mourvedre, "Mourvedre is a late ripening, darkly colored, thick skinned berry that produces long, conical shaped bunches. The grape reaches its best level of ripeness in warm, sunny, dry and even hot climates.'

"The true home for Mourvedre is Spain, where more than 61,000 hectares of vines are planted. After Spain, France is next country with the largest amount of planted Mourvedre vines.'

"In the southwest of France, Mourvedre is the third most popular grape in the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation. But third is a long way from first as it occupies less than 5% of the plantings in the Southern Rhone Valley.'

"When used as a blending grape, Mourvedre adds tannin and alcohol to wines as well as red fruits, cassis, spice, olives, herbs, pepper, sweetness, structure and depending on the producer, it could add a gamey, pleasant barnyard or animalistic character to the wine. Mourvedre is the perfect grape to blend with Grenache and Syrah.'

This blend is popular in the Southern Rhone as well as Australia and is often referred to as a "G-S-M" for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

The Wine Cellar Insider continues, "Mourvedre first gained popularity in Spain where it is known as Monastrell. At some point during the middle ages, vines were brought to the Rhone Valley. Prior to the attack of Phylloxera, it was the most popular grape in the region."

I believe we received this wine as a gift from our friends in the south of France whom we visited during our trip there to Aix-en-Provence, when we had a delightful authentic Provencal dinner with them at their home in Meyrargues. This wine-dine experience is chronicled in these pages in a blogpost from the trip, Four days in Provence - Aix - Meyrargues.

It is written about Bandol wines, they tend to be tough in their youth, a good Bandol needs time, like a Barolo or Bordeaux, a good 10 years of aging will soften the brutishness, and allow the true charracter and profile to reveal itself. When I opened this at a dozen years of age, I worried about its condition due to its ageability. It was likely at the apex of its drinking window, showing no diminution from aging whatsoever. 

Easy pleasant drinking, ruby colored, medium bodied with dark berry fruits accented by notes of licorice (nearby village Cassis), herbs, tobacco and earth. 

Dr Vinny of Wine Spectator writes about herbs de Provence, "There are a bunch of bushy, fragrant plants that grow wild there, such as juniper, thyme, rosemary and lavender, and garrigue refers to the sum of them. Think herbes de Provence, or a mix of fresh minty-herbal notes with more pungent, floral fragrances."

Look for Bandol as a high QPR - quality to price ratio, modestly priced every day drinking wine to serve with hearty food, what I call a "pizza wine". Tonight it was an ideal selection. 

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1366446

Liked this so much, relatively speaking, researched and found Binny's has four bottles of one Bandol nearby. Went out and picked up some 2016 La Bastide Blanche Bandol Mourvèdre Blend. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2714762

Stay tuned. 

 

 

 

La Presqu'Ile Restaurant à Bédarrides Vaucluse France

La Presqu'Ile Restaurant à Bédarrides, Vaucluse, France

Following our private tour and tasting at Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, proprietor Andre Brunier arranged for us a perfect lunch table at a picturesque local restaurant nearby in the small village of Bédarrides, located at the entry to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, equidistant (12km) from Avignon, Carpentras and Orange. 

This was magnamimous given it was an extraordinary dining experience despite the fact they didn't have on offer his wine (s). 

The restaurant Le'Presquile, was just down the road, very close to the Vieux Telegraph estate, cited on the circular road that traverses the circular shaped town at the confluence of the river Ouvèze, in a setting opposite the village, that feels like a small island. 

 

The village is accessed via an adjacent postcard worthy historic old bridge, built in 1647. 

 

The restaurant opened for lunch and we were but two diners giving us the option of sitting in-doors, or outside on a wonderful vine covered terrace overlooking the river. 

The setting, food and wine service could not have been more delightful. 

We had skirt/flank steak, beef burgers and salads. With our entrees we ordered from the winelist this St Josef Northern Rhone Syrah. 

M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Deschants Syrah 2017

The Saint-Joseph appellation extends around fifty kilometres on the right bank of the River Rhone, from Chavanay in the north to Guilherand-Granges, near Valence, in the south. The mainly-east facing vineyards are planted on the steep slopes of gneiss and local granite schist, occasionally coated with lenses of loess. This variety of substrates results in wines of "complexity, volume and tautness in our Deschants wine", according to the producer. 

The vineyard was originally established in the areas surrounding Tournon : Mauves, Saint-Jean de Muzols et Lemps. ” Mauves wines ” were higly reputed in the last century even as far as Russia, on the Tsars’ dining table. Two sites had already gained respect at that time.  Saint-Joseph hill-side, a parcel of land owned today by maison Chapoutier, and that of Saint-Épine. 

The soil is granitic and slightly acidic, on the right bank of the Rhône on the foothills of the Massif Central. Chapoutier own the parcel of Saint-Joseph, situated between Mauves and Tournon, which has given its name to the appellation.

This was 100% Syrah sourced from the southern sector from Arras down to Mauves, 40% estate fruit and the remainder 60% purchased, Aged 60% in vat and 40% oak casks for 12-18 months. Production was 170,000 bottles.

Wine Advocate rated this wine 91-93 to points. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, concentrated black cherry and blueberry fruits with notes of floral, cassis, olive tapenade, cracked pepper, spice and black tea, with soft, ripe tannins and lingering on the finish. 

RM 91 points.   

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3331539

https://www.chapoutier.com/en/shop/deschants/2017/50 

https://lapresquile.business.site/